Q 01/05

Which lost French port did Mary I of England reportedly say would be found lying in her heart?

A) Calais

B) Boulogne

C) Dunkirk

D) Dieppe

Answer · why

A) Calais

Calais had been English since 1347 and was England's last foothold on the European mainland. French forces took it in January 1558, months before the ...

Q 02/05

After Mary I of England died, her widower Philip sought to marry which new queen, who refused him?

A) Catherine de' Medici

B) Mary, Queen of Scots

C) Elizabeth I

D) Jeanne d'Albret

Answer · why

C) Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I, Mary's half-sister and successor, turned him down. Three decades later Philip sent the Spanish Armada against her.

Q 03/05

Mary I of England won the throne by deposing which teenage cousin, nicknamed the Nine Days Queen?

A) Lady Margaret Douglas

B) Lady Jane Grey

C) Lady Frances Brandon

D) Lady Arbella Stuart

Answer · why

B) Lady Jane Grey

Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed queen on 10 July 1553 and deposed on 19 July as support swung to Mary. She was executed the following February.

Q 04/05

Mary I of England was nicknamed Bloody Mary after some 280 Protestants were executed in which way?

A) Beheading with an axe

B) Hanging and quartering

C) Pressing under weights

D) Burning at the stake

Answer · why

D) Burning at the stake

Burning at the stake proved so unpopular that even one of her husband's own churchmen condemned it. The victims were soon lauded as martyrs.

Q 05/05

Mary I of England seemed to be expecting a child in 1554–55; what is it now thought to have been?

A) A false pregnancy

B) A hidden miscarriage

C) A court deception

D) A stomach tumour

Answer · why

A) A false pregnancy

A false pregnancy, perhaps brought on by her overwhelming desire for an heir, is the likeliest answer. Her abdomen receded in July 1555 and no baby ca...